Catch a Falling Star: Living With Alzheimer's - Softcover

After graduating from Skidmore College with a fine arts degree, Betty Baker worked in freelance card and package design, mannequin making and retail window design in New York City and New Jersey where she grew up. Her marriage to engineer Hank Spohr took her around the world and perfected her skills in fashion design and block printing. At retirement, Betty received the shattering diagnosis of Hank's Alzheimer's disease. Catch a Falling Star is her story of ten years spent coping with and caring for Hank at home.

"A brave, helpful and even humorous account of 'the long goodbye,' written with love for the person lost and compassion for the caregivers who face this most cruel of all diseases. A valuable, practical addition to the limited but growing library of Alzheimer's literature." -- Tim Ryan, CBS Sports, whose wife suffers from Alzheimer's. An article about Tim and Lee appeared in the New York Times on Nov. 29,1997.

"A great book chronicling Alzheimer's disease. . . A humorous and informative story of the day-to-day life for spouses, relatives, friends and caregivers." -- Feminist Bookstore News

"A moving and tender account of a woman's 11-year struggle of caring and coping during her husband's Alzheimer's disease. . . . also includes practical tips for. . . Alzheimer's caregivers." -- National Alzheimer's Assn. Newsletter

Catch A Falling Star: Living With Alzehimer's is an inspirational book by Betty Baker Spohr, whose husband developed Alzheimer's disease at the outset of their retirement. Almost overwhelmed by passions that rebelled against her husband's unavoidable decline, Betty took time to chronicle and sketch her struggle and the uninvited challenge it brought them. Despite its tragic dimension, Betty's "picture" story is also amply laced with humor. Catch A Falling Star is accessible to the general reader because of its easy-to-=read journal entries and pencil drawings. Over half of the book is made up of sketches by Betty, a professional artist and designer. Catch A Falling Star is a much needed resource for spouses, children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends of Alzheimer's sufferers. It is a practical and timely resource with a "Points to Remember" section at the end of every chapter listing helpful suggestions for caregivers who continuously face new and often surprising difficulties. -- Midwest Book Review